Two Dublin local authorities are leading a campaign to introduce a tourist tax on overnight stays, similar to those implemented in many popular tourist destinations worldwide. Fingal County Council has reached out to councils across Ireland, advocating for national legislation that would allow local authorities to collect a “transient visitor tax” from hotels, short-term rentals, and other accommodation providers.
Dublin City Council has already expressed support for the initiative and is seeking cooperation from the region’s other councils. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is expected to formally join the effort soon, following discussions by its finance committee.
Labour Party councillor James Humphreys from Swords in Fingal believes the tax could benefit areas near Dublin airport, where many hotel guests are transient visitors. He suggests revenue from the tax could be earmarked for initiatives encouraging tourists to explore more of Fingal and extend their stays.
Sinn Féin councillor Séamas McGrattan, who chairs Dublin City Council’s finance committee, emphasized that Dublin-wide cooperation would prevent market distortion and increase pressure on the national government to take action. The council previously proposed a 1% hotel tax in 2023, with the current coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, and the Green Party supporting the measure.
According to The Journal, similar tourist taxes are common internationally. Venice charges €1-5 per night depending on the season, Vienna imposes a 3.2% tax on accommodation bills, and Lisbon recently doubled its tourist tax to €4 per guest per night.
However, the Irish Hotels Federation opposes the proposal, arguing that hotels already contribute to local budgets through commercial rates and levies. The industry warns that additional taxes could harm Ireland’s competitiveness in the international tourism market.